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There’s Something About Mr Darcy

Friday 26th June 2020 14:30pm

Gabrielle is a former senior lecturer and research fellow in English Literature. She has taught at a number of colleges and universities in the UK. Following her academic career, she turned to freelance writing and has published widely on Shakespeare, Victorian Literature, and Jane Austen. She edited ‘Fan Phenomena: Jane Austen’ (Intellect, 2015) and has spoken at the Hampshire Regency Week, the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, and for international audiences at the Library of Alexandria, Egypt; the University of Gotingen, Germany; and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She has been interviewed about her work on Radio 3’s The Verb and in The Guardian weekend magazine.

There’s Something About Darcy was published in November 2019 (Endeavour Quill). This is an exploration of the cultural icon that Darcy has become. It charts the roots and origins of the character, and the influences that operated on Austen. Then it looks at the way in which the 19th and 20th century used Darcy and embraced the idea of Austen’s creative genius. Onwards, through the romances and cinema of the 20th century and into the 21st century with the influence of the 1995 P&P, the online culture, and finally the book takes a speculative look at fan culture and fan fiction and how that shapes the popular market.

 

  • Start Date: 26 Jun 20
  • End Date: 26 Jun 20

    • Please note: tickets purchased from us are non refundable.

Gilbert Whites House

Gilbert White was aged 7 or 8 when the White family moved from the Vicarage on Selborne’s Plestor, to this house, called ‘The Wakes’ (named after the Wake family who had lived here previously). At that time the property would have been no more than a ‘two up, two down’  but over the subsequent years lots of extensions and additions have been made, creating the long sizeable house you see today.

The rooms have been restored following descriptions in White’s own correspondence and include a chair he used at Oriel College, Oxford (loaned from the College), items of contemporary furniture, family portraits and bed hangings embroidered for him by his aunts.

On display is the original manuscript of his book, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, which was purchased with generous help from English Heritage and others.

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